***Just Passing Thru

        We who follow Christ already know our endpoint—heaven, that is. So whatever we go thru is what we must go thru for a little while. You might as well enjoy the scenery, while your heart is with the Lord. Doin't complain, be patient, and remain faithful. In fact, be like the breeze, free, easy, and carefree. Before you know, your journey is over. Now it's joy all the way!  

**Be Wise and Have No Regrets

          In today's Gospel reading, as Jesus was carrying the cross to his execution, a large crowd followed him, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" These are poignant words. I believe that such days are coming to all those who ignore the Lord now and will regret later. God's infinite mercy is yours for the asking. But if you do not ask, you could end up regretting for all eternity. My advice: "Never do anything that might make you regret later!"

**We Deny Jesus, Huh?*

        Today's long Gospel reading from Luke 22 & 23 at Mass started with the Last Supper and ended with the burial of Jesus. In it we heard Peter denying the Lord three times. That made me realize that we Christians deny the Lord all the time as we ignore him and go our own way. At least Peter did it out of fear, while we do it not even thinking about it. Shame on us! We need to weep bitterly for ourselves as Peter did after he realized his failure.

***Being Exalted by God

        In today's reading II from Philippians 2, Paul describes how Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness. He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth an under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus himself has said to all, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). Now we know exactly how to let ourselves be exalted by God. Let God alone be the Lord over us and ourselves be obedient to the Father as Christ was. Humility marks the true disciple of Christ.  

***The World Betraying the Lord

        Today is Palm Sunday. The psalm response from Psalm 22 reads "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" Jesus was going to go thru his Passion and be crucified. Evil is real! Look at the war in Ukraine now. You see soldiers blowing up enemy soldiers with the push of a button and they cheer and celebrate. The "worst" video I saw shows a sniper taking down what he deemed to be enemies one by one from a long distant away when they were not even seen to be attacking anyone. Are we to decide who should live or die? What about God's commandment "Thy shall not kill"? When a country sends weapons to another country to help it fight a war, isn't that promoting more killing? Anyway, starting a war plays right into Satan's hands and greatly saddens our Lord. During this Holy Week leading to Easter, we need to reflect, repent, repent, repent, and reform to make up for how much we have sinned against the Lord, and pray for peace.

***Blessing Not to Be Missed

        Communion experience. I haven't gone back to attending Saturday morning Mass at my church for a long time. So when I resumed that this morning, it's heartening to see the fairly large attendance and the extra long confession line after Mass. Those of us who believe that we are in end times are now more awake than ever. As I received the Lord again in the Holy Eucharist, God and I united and my eternal destiny was settled. This blessing is not to be missed and is one I believe the Lord wishes to bestow on everyone.

**Know God Is Lord

        God is infinite and we are finite. Infinity is not even a number. If we are assigned any number, that number is in effect zero relative to infinity. Therefore, we must acknowledge that we are totally dependent upon God our creator in every way and live accordingly.

*Heaven Will Be Perfect for Us

        Today in prayer after Mass, I saw that no matter how much we intend to love God, our loving falls miserably short. I suppose that it'll become perfect only after we get to heaven. It's in heaven that our desires will all be perfectly fulfilled.

**Doing What We Can

        Each of us has been given the free will. We cannot make others will to turn to and believe in Christ, but we certainly can will to do so ourselves. We can only do our part and should do it fully for the Lord

*****A God-Given Opportunity

        Christ is the one we'll have to answer to after we die, and he is also the one who reveals to us how we can pass the test on judgment day. This is like getting all the answers to the test questions beforehand! How can we not take advantage of this God-given opportunity? Humble up so you can see, hear, and think clearly!

***Sign You Need Christ

        To me, Christ is so beautiful that if you truly open your heart to him, it'd be impossible for you not to fall in love with him! This has been my experience and is what I proclaim now. Explore on your own and find out the truth. If you cannot completely dismiss him without any qualms, it shows that you need him and that he's calling you. Should you continue avoiding him in this life, you cut yourself off from the source of your life for ever. Turn to him while you still can.

****Utter Dependence upon God

        This is a beautiful thing. God is all powerful and loves us. If we trust in him fully, then everything works out beautifully for us. This is completely logical if the assumption is true. And I know that it is true. It's the perfect way to enjoy God and his peace. 

***Cause of Our Unhappiness

        We are most precious to God who loves us with the greatest possible love. If you are not happy with yourself or anything else, trace it to your relationship with God. Those who have the perfect relationship with God are always happy and peaceful. So, how happy you are depends solely upon how well you get along with the Lord our Savior. 

**Living a Productive Life

        If you do not know Christ the Savior yet, you are most likely living a life for yourself and not helping him save any souls, including your own. This is not being productive. In fact, it can be most destructive. Living for Christ helps him save souls, which is God's primary mission and our obligation if we ever wish to get into heaven. 

If You Really love God . . .

        If you really know the God of Christ, you would love him and want to serve him willingly and unconditionally, not expecting to receive any reward from him. He becomes the only one you care about and live for, with you living the most selfless life. It sounds austere, but on the contrary, it's utterly joyous and liberating!

**More Christian Joys

        Here are two more. (1) The joy of hearing the Lord speaking to you in your heart. (2) The joy and satisfaction you feel, proclaiming God's glory to the world.

****How to Enjoy God the Most****

         Just surrender yourself completely to him and you'll experience the greatest joy of you life. (Don't get too carried away yet; for in heaven, you'll experience the greatest joy of your whole existence!)

**Not the Same Person Again

        Communion experience. The Lord offering himself to each of us present—it was a most personal offering. After you receive the Blessed Sacrament, you are not the same person again! As I realized that, it was 8 AM and the church bells tolled, as if celebrating that joyous moment.